God on earth, as it is done in heaven, we pray for this heavenly temper, that we may bear an universal respect unto all God's commandments; no more hesitating or pausing at anything that God requires of us, than an angel or a glorified saint would do; but unfolding all our interest and concerns in God's glory, may respect and value nothing but what tends to the promotion of that. This is to do God's will as the angels do it in heaven.

[2.] Their obedience is cheerful; not extorted from them by violent constraints of fear, or of suffering, but it is their eternal delight, and their service is their felicity. And thus should we pray, and endeavour to do the will of God with alacrity and cheerfulness: not being haled to it as our task, but esteeming the commands of God, as the angels do, to be our glory, and our great reward. But, alas, how infinitely short do we fall of our pattern! We think the sabbath long, and ordinances long and tedious, and are secretly glad when they are over : and what should such as we are do in heaven, where there is a sabbath as long as eternity, and nothing but holiness there? And therefore we had need pray earnestly that God would now fit and prepare us for the work of heaven while we are here on earth, for else heaven will not be heaven, or a place of happiness unto us.

[3.] The will of God is done in heaven with zeal and ardour, and therefore it is said that God maketh his angels and messengers a flame of fire, Psa. civ. 4. And have not we abundance of need to pray for conformity with them in this respect also? We do the will of God so coldly and indifferently that we ourselves scarcely take notice of what we are doing. We often bring sacrifices to God; and either bring

no fire with us, but are frozen and dull, or else offer them up with strange wildfire; and usually are heated more with passion and irregular affections than with holy and pious zeal. And,

[4.] The will of God is done in heaven with celerity and ready dispatch; they are quick in executing the commands of the great God, and their Lord, and therefore are said to have wings, and to fly, Isa. vi. 2. And this expression of wings, and the flying of cherubim and angels, is frequently mentioned in Scripture, only to intimate to us the expedition they use in the service of God. But alas, how dull and slow are we! How long do we consult with flesh and blood, and are disputing the will of our sovereign Lord, when we should be obeying it! When we are clearly convinced that such a duty is necessary to be done, how many delays and excuses, and procrastinations, do we make, being willing to stay the leisure of every vile lust, and vain impertinency, thinking it then time enough to serve God when we have nothing else to do! Certainly this is not to do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven, where, upon the first intimations of God's will, they take wings, and execute it speedily.

[5.] The will of God is done in heaven with all possible prostration, reverence, and humility: aud therefore it is said, that "the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne," Rev. iv. 10. Crowns are themselves ensigns of majesty; but here they cast their very crowns, all their dignity and glory, at the feet of God, and make their chief excellency itself do homage to him that is King of kings, and Lord of lords. And so should we in all our serving

of God do it with reverence and godly fear, preserving upon our hearts an awful sense and regard of the dreadful Majesty before whom we appear.

[6.] The will of God is done in heaven with constancy and perseverance. They serve God day and night, Rev. vii. 15, and are never weary of his work, no more than they are of their own happiness, for his service is their happiness, and their obedience their glory. And thus should we pray and endeavour that we may do the will of God constantly and perseveringly; for it is perseverance that crowns all other graces, and God hath promised to crown our perseverance with glory and eternal life.

Lord,

To conclude this, is there no other and no lower pattern set us than the perfect obedience of angels and glorified spirits? Let us not then content ourselves with a comparative obedience, and, by measuring ourselves with those that are worse, think highly of our own perfections. Let us not applaud ourselves with the boasting pharisee, with a I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers." What is this to the pattern that God hath set us for our imitation? Perhaps thou dost but all this while compare thyself with those that are in hell, and dost God's will not much better than such have done, if this be all that thou canst plead for thyself: whereas God hath set thee examples for thy imitation in heaven, dost thou endeavour to do his will as seraphim and cherubim, and the whole host of blessed spirits? Thou livest, it may be, not so like a devil as others do, but dost thou live like an angel? Dost thou serve God with the same proportionable zeal, ardour, delight, and constancy, as those holy spirits do, who always stand in the presence of God ready to do his will? If not,

neither endeavourest after so high a degree of obedience and purity, know that thy imitation of any lower example than that of heaven can never suffice to bring thee to heaven.

I now come to treat of those petitions which immediately concern our own good; and that is, either our temporal or our spiritual good: our temporal good, in praying for our daily bread; our spiritual good, in the last two petitions, wherein we pray for the forgiveness of our sins past, and for deliverance from sin for time to come.

The Fourth Petition.

I begin with the first of these, our requests or petitions for temporal blessings contained in the fourth petition, "Give us this day our daily bread ;" and here I shall consider, I. The order, and II. the petition itself.

I. The order; and that is remarkable upon two accounts.

1. Whereas this petition is placed in the midst, and encompassed about with others which relate to spiritual blessings; so that after we have prayed for the glory of God, our Saviour teacheth us to make mention of our temporal wants, and so to pass on again to beg spiritual mercies for our souls. This may instruct us in the government of our lives to use worldly comforts as here we pray for them. Spiritual and heavenly things are our greatest concernments, and should be our greatest care. these we should begin, and with these we should end; only God allows us the world as an inn; we may call in at it, and refresh ourselves with the

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comforts and accommodations which we find, but we must not dwell nor set up our rest there. We are all strangers and pilgrims upon earth; heaven is our country, and thither we are travelling, only in our journey we may call and bait at the world, and take what we find provided for us with sobriety and thankfulness: and therefore this bread that we here "he pray for is elsewhere called the staff of bread, brake the whole staff of bread," Psa. cv. 16. will break your staff of bread,” Ezek. v. 16. all this is to put us in mind that we are to ask for, and to use these earthly enjoyments only as travellers, that make use of a staff for their help and support whilst they are in their passage home. we are hereby also taught to crave no more than will suffice for our convenient supplies, otherwise we make our staff our burden, and our support itself a load and pressure.

And

And

2. It is observable, that though we are commanded to seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, with a promise that all other earthly things shall be added to us; yet here our Saviour places the petition for temporal blessings before the two petitions we present to God for spiritual blessings; and this order hath seemed so strange and incongruous to some, that hereupon alone they have been moved to affirm that this bread which we here ask is not any temporal good thing, but the Bread of life, even Jesus Christ himself, as shall be shown more by and by.

Now this order doth not intimate to us that earthly blessings are better and more considerable than heavenly, or that they should have the preference in our esteem or desires; and I hope there are none of us so brutish, nor so far degenerated